Folding table.



No. 782,838. PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905. A. N. POOUE.

FOLDING TABLE.

APPLIUATION FILED MAR. 16, 1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented February 21, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR N. FOQUE, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS. ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOJOSEPH R. GREEN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FOLDING TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 782,838, dated February21, 1905.

Application filed March 16, 1903. Serial No. 147,893.

To all 1071 0771 7T2; may concern/:

Be it known that LARTHUR N. FOQUE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Medford, in the county of Middlesex, State of Massa 5chusetts, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in FoldingTables, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has for its object an improve- IO ment in folding tables.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part hereof.

The novel features are pointed out and clearly defined in the claims atthe close of this specification. I

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a tableembodying my invention, certain portions beingin section for clearness.The dotted lines at the right of the figure indicate the position of thetop when the table is folded. Fig. 2 is a plan view of thetableextended, but showing the top in the position which it occupies when thetable is folded. Fig. 3 is a top view of the table folded. Fig. 4: is adetail showing the arrangement of the hinge and the slot in thetable-top.

Having reference to the drawings, the four 3 legs of the table are shownat 1, 2, 3, and L, respectively. The top of the table is marked 22 andis hinged to the legs 2 and 3 at 23, as will be described hereinafter.The legs 1 and 4 and 2 and 3 are rigidly connected at their upper endsby means of the cross-pieces 5 and 6, respectively. The legs 1 and 2 and3 and 4 are connected by means of two-part hinged cross-pieces 7 and 8,respectively. The crosspieces 7 and 8 are both of the same construc- 4tion that is, they are formed in two parts of equal length, theproximate ends of the said parts beingsecured together by hinges 9 and10, respectively. The opposite ends of the cross-pieces 7 and 8 aresecured by means of hinges (shown at 11, Figs. 3 and 4) to the adjacenttop portion of one of the legs.

For the purpose of preventing the table from collapsing when extendedand also of rendering it more rigid and stable when in use I providelocking-bars 12 and 13. In Fig. 3 these bars are shown in the positionwhich they occupy when the table is extended, at which time they liedirectly inside the cross-pieces 7 and 8, as shown, their ends beingreceived in recesses 14, one of said recesses being formed in the top ofeach of the table-legs. When it is desired to fold the table. thelocking-bars 12 and 13 are raised out of the recesses 14 and are placedin corresponding recesses or holders 15, secured to the adjoining facesof the tops of the legs, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The recessedholders 15 are simply for convenience in storing and holding thelocking-bars 12 and 13 when they are not in use. l/Vhen the table isextended, as

shown in Fig. 2, the ends of the locking-bars 12 and 13 are directlyabove the hinges 11, which secure the side pieces 7 and 8 to the legs of,the table, and in consequence these hinges do not show in the top orplan view, Fig. 2.

For the purpose of providing ashelf below the table-topand also forrendering the table more stable and rigidwhen it is extended I employthe following construction: A shelf 16 of the desired size is employedwhich is formed in two parts, said parts being joined along a line 17,which is parallel with the rigid crosspieces 5 and 6. The two parts 16of the shelf are secured by hinges 18, secured to the under side of thesaid shelf. The shelf is supported and secured in place by fourhorizontal supports, each of the same construction and each designated19. (See Fig. 2.) The inner ends of these supports are securely fastenedto the shelf, as at 30, in any desired manner, and the outer ends aresecured to pir ots 20, which pass through the legs of the table at theheight from the floor which it is desired to locate the shelf 16. Eachof the pivots 20, of which there is one for each of the supports 19,may, if desired, be formed integral with the support 19, and they arepreferably provided at their outer ends with nuts 21, which may be, asshown, in the form of ornamental knobs. The pivots 20 are parallel withthe rigid side pieces 5 and 6.

The top 22 is hinged to one pair of the rigidly-connected legs 2 and 3,the hinges being shown at 23. These hinges 23 each consist of a leaf ofusual construction, which is secured to the top of the leg, while theother. leaf of the hinge is provided with a projection or stud 24,having an enlarged head. The studs 24 project into slots 25, which areformed across the table at right angles with the sides between the fixedpairs of legs. This arrangement allows the table-top to slide upon thestuds and assume, as will be described later, the compact form which isdesirable in folding tables. The construction of the hinge, stud, andgroove in the table-top is clearly shown in Fig. 4. In practice I findit convenient to face the groove with a metalstrip, as shown at 26 inFig. 4.

\Vhen it is desired to fold the table, the top 22 is turned upon thehinges 23 until in a vertical position, when the studs 24: of the hinges23 are allowed to slide in their slots 25 until the top is in theposition shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 1. The locking-bars 12 and 13(shown in Fig. 5) are then removed from their locking positions andplaced in the holders 15, Where they will be at hand for use whenfurther required. The hinged side pieces 7 and 8 are then swunginwardly, as will be clear from Fig. 3, permitting the rigid side pieces5 and 6 to be moved toward each other, and at the same time the supports19 and the halves of the shelf 16, to which each pair of supports'19 isattached, are moved upwardly on the pivots 20 until the two halves ofthe shelf 16 are folded upon each other, as is permitted by the hinges18. The frame portions of the table then assume the position shown inFig. 3. By reversing the movements of the parts the table will be againextended, and the insertion of the locking-bars l2 and 13 in positionserves to lock the table rigidly in its extended position.

A table embodying my invention is compact when folded and very firm andrigid when extended, and it may be provided with a shelf of relativelylarge capacity, which is a desirable feature in tables of this class.

What I claim is 1. In a folding table, the combination of a top, fourlegs rigidly connected in pairs, corresponding legs of said pairs beingconnected by two-part side pieces hinged to each other at theirproximate ends and to the legs at their other ends; a shelf divided intotwo parts along a line parallel to the rigidly-connected pairs of legs,and four supports rigidly connected to the said shelf at their innerends and pivoted at their other ends to the legs, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a locking device for folding tables, the combination of four legsof which adjacent members are rigidly connected by integral side piecesto form two pairs, integral connecting members therefor, hinged two-partside pieces connecting said pairs, a lockingbar whose ends when inoperative position rest in slots in an opposite and corresponding pairof flexibly-connected legs and when in inoperative position rest inslots in a pair of rigidly-connected legs, and slots as aforesaidsuitably located for the reception of said locking-bar in its twopositions, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR N. FOQUE.

Witnesses:

, WM. A. MAoLnoD, GEORGE P. DIKE.

